Schroders Dumps PwC As Its Auditor After 57 Years

Schroders is to begin searching for a new auditor, three years after Europe’s second-largest listed asset manager was forced to backtrack on an attempt to replace PwC as its accounting firm. The London-based investment company’s decision to end its 57-year relationship with PwC comes after a number of large investors raised concerns about the ability of audit firms to deliver independent advice when they have worked for the same company for decades. Investors have intensified their focus on auditor independence in the aftermath of the financial crisis. Questions were raised about why the big four accounting firms — PwC, Deloitte, EY and KPMG — either failed to spot or failed to highlight mounting problems in the banking sector.